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(EDINBORO, PA.): Clarion bolted to a 24-0 third quarter lead on Adam Almashy's 12-yard touchdown pass to Chad Thompson on a fake field goal attempt, then held on to defeat Edinboro at Sox Harrison Stadium on Saturday afternoon 24-18.
The Golden Eagles, ranked 7th in the East Region, upped their record to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC-West, while Edinboro dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the PSAC-West.
"This was a big road win for us," commented Clarion head coach Malen Luke. "We played a very strong first half and really took control of the momentum in the third quarter, but failed to put the game away when we had the chance. Give Edinboro credit, they battled back and made a real run at us. I was happy we were able to control the football and run out the clock for the final five minutes of the game."
On a cool, blustery and rain-soaked field, Clarion used its potent rushing offense to help build a 17-0 halftime lead and a 24-0 bulge early in the third quarter.
Ranked 4th in the nation averaging 293.8 yards per game, the Eagles scored on their opening drive of the game moving 80 yards in 7 plays, including 61 rushing yards. The big play in the drive came on third and 20 at the Edinboro 24, when Eagle qb Adam Almashy hit Ben Culver for 19 yards to the Boro 5. On fourth and one, Clarion head coach Malen Luke disdained the field goal and it paid dividends as Almashy scored on a 5-yard run and gave Clarion a 7-0 lead at 11:11.
Clarion's defense helped set up the next score. Corner Myron Hargon picked off a Cam Marsh pass at the Clarion 39 and returned it 15 yards to the Edinboro 46. Eagle halfback Glenn Lovelace took care of the rest. He ran 17 yards to the Scot 29, then bolted into the endzone on the next play giving Clarion a 14-0 lead with 8:15 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter the Eagle defense kept the Scots off the board
when Tim Connolly blocked Geoff Heyl's 38-yard field goal attempt.
Clarion moved out to a 17-0 lead on a 59-yard, 6-play drive that was capped by Chris Carlton's 23-yard field goal with 7:29 left before halftime. The Eagles had first and goal at the Boro 6 after Robert Walker ran 51 yards, but the Scot defense stiffened and Carlton came on for his sixth field goal of the year.
Clarion's special teams set up the final Eagle touchdown. With Edinboro in punt formation, Andy Tenney broke through untouched and blocked a Sean McNicholas punt at the Boro 26 and Korey Eppinette scooped up the pigskin and returned it to the Scot 20. On fourth and 2 at the Scot 12, Carlton lined up for a 30-yard field attempt, but holder Adam Almashy already had the fake field goal called. Almashy took the snap, rolled right and hit Chad Thompson all alone in the endzone for a 12-yard td pass. Carlton's PAT was good and Clarion led 24-0 with 11:45 left in the third.
Edinboro's march back started with an Alonzo Roebuck 59-yard td run on the Scots next possession, but a failed snap resulted in Edinboro only reducing the margin to 24-6 at 10:18.
Late in the third quarter the Scots had a first and goal at the Clarion 7, but the defense held and forced Edinboro to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Heyl pulling Edinboro to within 20-9 at 1:37.
Edinboro drove 79-yards in 7 plays on its next possession and capped the drive with a 21-yard td run by Alonzo Roebuck. The PAT failed and Clarion held a 24-15 lead with 10:22 left in the game.
On Edinboro's next possession Heyl booted a 39-yard field goal with only 4:50 remaining pulling the Scots to within six points at 24-18.
Clarion took the kickoff and ran out the final 4:50 to preserve the win. The key play in the drive came on fourth and a foot with the Eagles on their own 33 yard line. Almashy leaped across the line for the first down to keep contol of the football. He dashed 39-yards to the Edinboro 15 three plays later and the Eagles had their fifth win of the season.
"We decided to go for it on fourth down," said Clarion's Luke. "We felt if we were a championship caliber team that we should win it right there on the field. If they stopped us, so be it. Our defense was tired and we didn't want to have to put them back on the field in that position."
The Golden Eagles racked up 307 rushing yards and 338 yards of total offense on the day. Tailback Robert Walker gained 116 yards on 14 carries and Lovelace ran for 72 yards and 1 td on only 7 tries. Almashy gained 59 yards and 1 td on 13 tries, plus completed 2 of 11 passes for 31 yards and 1 td.
Shaun Saad led the defense with 8 tackles and 1 break-up, while Kevin Platz had 2 sacks and 3 tfl's, and Myron Hargon an interception and a break-up.
Edinboro's offense totaled 392 yards including 184 on the ground and 208 through the air. Roebuck paced the running game with 146 yards and 2 td's on 214 carries, including 132 yards in the second half. Cam Marsh completed 10 of 27 for 104 yards, but was knocked out of the game in the third quarter and Justin Bouch came in to complete 6 of 12 for 104 yards. Sean Hess caught 6 passes for 96 yards.
Clarion returns home to take on Shippensburg next Saturday in a big PSAC-West game, while Edinboro travels to Slippery Rock.
CLARION NOTES: Walker's 116 yards moves him up to 1,720 career yards, only 87 yards behind Steve Nolan's (1971-74) 1,807 for 7th place on the all-time list … Almashy's 59 yards brings his career total to 1,148 yards, 19th on the all-time list… Almashy now has 38 td passes in his career, placing him 4th at Clarion in that category… He is tied there with Bob Erdeljac (1968-70)… Clarion's running game is now averaging 295.7 per game… If you eliminate the game at Div.I-AA power Youngstown State, Clarion is averaging 323.8 rushing yards per game against its Division II opponents.
